Essay on Madonna and Prince in The Paris Review

[groovyguy 63,861]

http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/06/25/highs-in-the-mid-eighties/

Recalling the heyday of Prince and Madonna on the thirtieth anniversary of Purple Rain.

[Guest]

Interesting read. I will say, I am not sure I agree with the fact the writer mentioned Madonna didn't embrace the sounds of Hip Hop and Techno in the early 90's, when that is the furthest from the truth. What about "Justify My Love" and "Erotica".  Both were very Hip hop. If anything, Madonna's "Justify My Love" helped hip hop become more mainstream. Also, she explored techno and electronica long before they started becoming mainstream. "Bedtime Story" explored that sound long before it became more mainstream and before she broke out with "Ray of Light". The writer wrote that Madonna went away during this time, when in fact, she was right there exploring those sounds and what was popular at the moment. R&B was huge in American and she scored her biggest hit to date with "Take A Bow". Certainly, both Erotica and Bedtime Story albums didn't sell well compared to her previous albums, but during the evolvment of the music scene whether it was hip hop, techno and/or R&B, Madonna was right there releasing music in the same genres.

[groovyguy 63,861]

I understand the point of the essay in that it shows how two of the biggest artists of the 80's made an impact during that time and how since then their careers have followed different trajectories. It’s a rather insightful piece and a well written commentary on two important cultural icons.

 

However when it describes Madonna in the early 90s, I feel it really downplayed her power, cultural and commercial success in the first half of the 90s. The Blond Ambition tour, the Immaculate Collection, the JML video release were all hugely successful. WhileErotica era underperformed relative to its predecessors, it was actually pretty successful. The SEX book was sold out then and is one of the most sought after out-of-print books now. The Girlie Show was successful. The Bedtime Stories had a string of very popular singles that resonated with people and gave us Take a Bow, her longest running #1 hit in the US. She achieved all those despite the Erotica/Sex backlash then.I love that she thrusted the whole Erotica/Sex and her sexuality in the face of the world, and she did so boldly, risking everything at the zenith of her career. The article mentions that the move was unlike anything that has happened in music history and they are absolutely right.  The 80s introduced this amazing pop star to the world, but I would say that it was in the first half of the 90s that Madonna secured her legendary status and her icon hood.

Overall, this essay is an insightful commentary from a musician and music journalist that explains how her career developed (both the ups and downs) and clearly demonstrates why she still does (and should) "wear the crown".

[Guest]

I remember after Erotica was released and sometime after Madonna commented on the success of the album. At the time, it only had sold 2 million copies which yes quite less than her earlier albums, but she commented how people were downplaying the success of the album by making out like 2 million copies was a failure. She wasn't complaining that it sold 2 million copies.

 

But yes, in the U.S. especially, the first three (four if you count FEVER) singles didn't get much airplay. "Rain" was the song that got a lot of radio exposure. Though, this song was released the summer of '93 once the initial negativity wore off of the album. I just remember being surprised how "Deeper and Deeper" didn't do much better since it was classic Madonna. I guess it was just too close to sounding like her earlier songs, it failed to gain much interest.